Prince Vladimir Red Sun. Why was it called that?

Youth

Vladimir's move to his grandmother is mentioned in the chronicle in connection with the siege of Kyiv. The defense of the city was successful, but the future ruler was not destined to remain in the southern capital of the principality. At the end of the year, Svyatoslav receives a notice from Novgorod that the ruler has died and they urgently need a new one. The prince's choice fell on Vladimir the Red Sun. We’ll find out why they called him that, but for now we’ll tell you about the young man’s first independent steps.

Moving to Novgorod was the first important event in the boy’s life. Since he was too young to become a full-fledged ruler, they gave him the governor Dobrynya to help him. He was supposed to oversee the education of the young prince, and also help make important government decisions. In Novgorod, Vladimir makes friends, mostly Scandinavian neighbors. And also the young ruler will build Perun’s chapel. Thanks to this act, which was most likely prompted by Dobrynya, Vladimir was able to quickly win the favor of the residents of Novgorod.

Abbreviated - endearing variants of the name

Vova (Volodya) full name is Vladimir. In everyday life, we are so used to calling many names by abbreviation, affectionately, that we forget about the main names. Perhaps there is not a single name from which such a huge number of diminutive names could be formed:

• Vova
• Volodya
• Volodenka
• Vovchik
• Vovan
• Vladya
• Volodyunya
• Volodka
• Vovulya
• Volodyasha
• Vovochka
• Vovusya
• Volodyuk

And this is not a complete list by which you can affectionately call a boy, a man with a wonderful name!

Family and Children

Why was Prince Vladimir called the Red Sun? Briefly about this we can say this: Vladimir became the first saint in Rus' and laid the foundation for the emergence of Christianity on Russian soil. What kind of personal life did the prince have? Vladimir was distinguished by his great love. The pagan faith encouraged this: “the more wives, concubines and children the ruler has, the stronger the state will be,” so the legend said. But whoever put forward this theory was very mistaken. Peace can only exist in monogamy. Towards the end of his life, Vladimir also came to this idea. But he could no longer change his actions. Officially he had 5 wives. The first - Olofi - he found in Scandinavia, the second - Rogneda - he took by force from Polotsk, the third - Adele - was from the Czech Republic, Manfred - from Bulgaria. Julia, the wife of Vladimir's brother, was taken as a concubine while she was already pregnant.

Anna was the first wife of the Russian prince after baptism, and his second wife was the granddaughter of Otto I, the German ruler. In addition to official connections, Vladimir had many mistresses. The ruler had more than 20 recognized children, 11 of them were boys, and therefore heirs to the throne.

Five wives and hundreds of concubines

On the way to Kyiv, he stops in Novgorod, where he liked the daughter of the local ruler Rogvolod. Rogneda, that was the girl’s name, did not want to marry a prince with a far from impeccable pedigree. According to one version, she was actually Yaropolk’s bride. But Vladimir did not accept the refusal: he killed Rogvolod, his sons and forcibly took Rogneda as his wife, who became the mother of Yaroslav the Wise and other sons.

Prince Vladimir did not stop at Rogneda: in total he had five wives and twelve sons.

The chronicler colorfully depicts the fornicating passion of the ruler, including his wives, also naming his concubines:

...and he had 300 concubines in Vyshgorod, 300 in Belgorod and 200 in Berestovo, in the village that is now called Berestovoye. And he was insatiable in fornication, bringing married women to him and corrupting girls...

Baptism of Rus'

The year 988 is officially considered the year of the adoption of Christianity in Rus'. But, as with all distant events, it cannot be said for sure that this is reliable information. In 988, the wedding of the Byzantine princess Anna and Vladimir the Red Sun took place. Why was he called that? Precisely for the reason that the ruler introduced an official monotheistic religion. How was the baptism? Of course, it was impossible to baptize the entire state. People who believed in pagan gods all their lives could not change their beliefs overnight. Paganism lived in Rus' for at least another 50 years after its baptism. But still, the adoption of Christianity was a big step towards the unification of the country and the establishment of a new institution of power in it. Some historians believe that the Christian religion could have been imposed on Vladimir by his grandmother, Princess Olga. But this theory is unlikely, since the prince’s communication with this woman was too limited. Most likely, Vladimir the Great Red Sun took such a serious step due to foreign policy factors.

Former names

Vladimir is not the only name of the city. Previously, it was called more complexly: Vladimir-Zalessky and Vladimir-on-Klyazma. The first option made it possible to differentiate the city from those of the same name, since Vladimir-Volynsky also existed in those days. Now he is on the territory of Ukraine.

Vladimir-on-Klyazma is a toponym that appeared due to the location of the settlement - on the Klyazma River. For some time it was the capital of northeast Rus' due to its advantageous geographical location.

However, these options did not take root, the city was simply called Vladimir, under this name it still exists today.

Nickname

Why was Prince Vladimir called the Red Sun? Of course, it was not the people who gave this nickname to the saint. After all, the figure of the prince did not inspire approval among his contemporaries. Many subjects did not support the transition to Christianity. And a dissolute lifestyle says little about a person’s holiness. But you still have to believe that people change. And one fateful event or, as in the case of Vladimir, a person can change them. After all, there is a version according to which the prince received baptism precisely thanks to one of his wives, namely Saint Anna. It is difficult to describe what a huge contribution Vladimir made to the development of Rus'. Why Red Sun? Yes, because our homeland has never seen as much light and peace as our fatherland received a century later.

Can a fornicator and murderer become a saint?

It is for all these merits - from his own change to the baptism and enlightenment of Rus' - that the church honors Vladimir as a saint. This is reflected in the life and akathist to the Equal-to-the-Apostles prince.

For every person just coming to faith, his example becomes an edification. He shows that the Lord is ready to forgive and accept even the most terrible fornicator and murderer, thirsty for power and enrichment, yesterday’s pagan. What matters to God is not who you were yesterday, but who you can become today. Become conscious, sincere, with understanding and desire to change.

You will learn some facts from the life of the saint from the video :

last years of life

The reign of Vladimir Krasnoe Solnyshko lasted 46 years. At the end of his life, the prince ruled in Kyiv and was very afraid for his life. And this is not surprising. After all, he wanted to write a will, according to which only one of his sons would become the heir. Of course, the children did not like this situation, and in 1014 Svyatopolk went to war with his father. By that time, he had managed to marry the daughter of a Polish prince, so his military detachment was assembled in a fairly quick time. In addition, many of Vladimir’s subjects supported Svyatopolk. After all, he was not the prince’s own son, but an adopted one. His real father was Yaroslav, whom Vladimir, sitting on the Kiev throne, killed in cold blood. But the military campaign was not successful. The army was defeated, and Svyatopolk was imprisoned.

In 1015, the second son, Yaroslav, spoke out against his father. But he did not go to war, the Novgorod principality simply wanted independence and stopped paying tribute. Vladimir did not like this situation, and he sent an army to resolve this issue. But the Kyiv prince did not manage to live to see the end of this war; on July 15 he died. Vladimir was buried in Kyiv in the Tithe Church next to his Christian wife Anna.

Vladimir - Red Sun

There are words without which you cannot live, life without which will be empty and in vain. These are great words: God, Love, Fatherland, father, mother, grandmother, grandfather... We are brothers and sisters to each other: we have one Lord, who created heaven and earth, one homeland, which is given to us as the main gift of all life. Everything fell as if from heaven: our parents, and the language we speak, and this river in which we swim, and the forest where we go to pick mushrooms and berries. And friends, and neighbors, and our beloved school, and teachers. That is, this is our homeland.

Homeland. And what is it? Where is she from? Of course, we love her and cannot imagine ourselves without her, which means we need to know her story. This knowledge is our gratitude to those who created and defended our beloved Russia

For us she is the best. How beautiful it is, what plains and mountains, forests and fields it has, what rivers flow through it, what seas and oceans splash along its shores. What bell ringings fill its air. And, most importantly, what kind of good people live there. Workers, warriors, builders. Who else, if not they, created cities, laid roads, erected dwellings and temples. Who, if not they, defended Russia from enemy attacks?

And each of them has their own name: Ivan, Maria, Ekaterina, Georgy, Nikolay, Nadezhda, Olga, Natalya, Anna, Sergey, Alexander, Mikhail, Elena, Svetlana... All names are beautiful and significant, but there is one name that unites all of us. This is a great, amazing name: VLADIMIR. He was glorified by the Kiev prince, who lived at the end of the tenth, at the beginning of the eleventh centuries. Our story will be about him and that time.

Metropolitan Hilarion said it best about Vladimir. He delivered his famous “Sermon on Law and Grace” in the Kiev Church of St. Sophia in the presence of Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich the Wise. The Metropolitan placed the Russian Prince Vladimir on a level with the great saints, with the heroes of antiquity. He compared him with the great Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine. Moreover, he called Vladimir the Russian John the Baptist and the Russian Apostle Paul. It was their feat - to bring people the light of the faith of Christ, Vladimir continued.

WARRIORS AND PLOWERS

Slavic tribes lived in vast expanses from the northern to the southern seas, from the Ural mountains to the Balkans.

The character of a Russian person was created in a difficult life. Most of all, the epics and chronicles of that time can tell us about this. There are northern epics, and there are southern ones. But both of them, for the most part, glorify the glorious deeds of Prince Vladimir. This story, for example, is widely known:

The evil Pechenegs attacked Kievan Rus, stand under the walls of Kyiv, boasting of their strength. They put their strongman warrior forward and shout: “Will the Russians have a rival for him?” What to do? The prince sent herald messengers to ask who could fight the Pechenegs? Nobody dares. An old man came to Vladimir and said: “I, prince, have four sons in your army, but there is still a fifth at home. Maybe he will go against the adversary? And the young man went out against the huge Pecheneg. He laughs, because the young man was of average height. But he grabbed the Pecheneg, squeezed him, and, lifting him into the air, struck the ground. And the Pechenegs were afraid and ran. The prince offered the strong man great gifts for his feat, but he took nothing and went back to crush the skins.

This is a chronicle legend about Kozhemyak. But not only that, he was so loved by the people that there is also an epic about him: “A terrible snake settled near Kyiv, and he dragged many people into his den. He dragged it and ate it. He dragged away the snakes and the king’s daughter...” Then the king and queen went to ask Kozhemyaka to save their daughter. “At that time, Kozhemyak crushed twelve skins at once. When he saw the king, he was frightened, his hands trembled, and he tore all twelve skins at once. He was angry that they frightened him and caused him loss, and did not go to help the princess. So the tsar came up with the idea to send five thousand orphans to Nikita, the snake had orphaned them, and ask him to save the entire Russian land from a great disaster. and drove him into the sea, and drowned him there. Having completed the holy deed, Nikita returned to Kyiv, began to wrinkle the skin again, did not take anything for his work... Nikitin’s furrow is still visible here and there in the steppe. The peasants plow all around, but in memory of Nikita, they don’t plow the furrows.”

The physical strength and endurance of our ancestors was always combined with selflessness and kindness.

Here is the epic “Volga and Mikula Selyaninovich” Mikula is a peasant, a plowman, “oratay-oratayushko”, and Volga is a warrior. Volga asks Mikula for help. He agrees, but first he needs to hide his “bipod behind a willow bush.” The bipod turned out to be heavy for five or ten warriors and even for the entire squad. Mikula throws the bipod behind the willow bush with one hand. This is how strong the peasant, the owner of the land, is. Mikula accompanies Volga, helps him, and then returns to plow the land. That is, the Russian people, when necessary, exchange the plowman's plow for the warrior's sword, and they do not need rewards for defending their Russian land.

It’s a pity that children now read little epics and legends and don’t know history well. But history is our main joy; we must follow the example of our great ancestors.

A whole set of epics talks about heroes - defenders of the Fatherland. And they are directly related to the image of Prince Vladimir. The main hero is, of course, Ilya Muromets. This is not a fictional hero of the epic, but a real, real person, born in the village of Karacharovo near Murom. At the end of his life he became a monk of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. His relics are carefully kept in caves among others, and you can always come to Kyiv and venerate them.

He defeated Ilya and the Nightingale the Robber, freed Russian captives, and guarded the borders of Rus' together with other heroes. One day “... the dog Kalin the Tsar arrived near Kyiv-grad with his troops, with the great ones. Here Vladimir the Prince of Stolno-Kiev, he began to pace up and down the hill, shedding burning tears from his clear eyes, wiping himself with a silk handkerchief. Prince Vladimir speaks and these are the words: “The old Cossack Ilya Muromets is no longer alive, there is no one now to stand for the faith, for the Fatherland, there is no one to stand for the churches, after all, for God, there is no one to stand for the capital Kiev City.”

That is, the prince thinks that Ilya Muromets is no longer alive, because he himself ordered him to be put in the cellar for a minor offense. But no, the Cossack is alive. It turns out that he was saved by the people who loved him. And so the prince hurries to Ilya, asks for forgiveness, begs to stand “for the Faith, for the Fatherland, for the mother Orthodox churches.” And the hero gets up and goes to battle, and does not harbor any grudges against the prince, because he will fight with the countless strength of the “dog Kalin the Tsar” not for himself, not for the sake of the prince, but for his homeland, Holy Rus'.

PEDIGREE

The very character of the Russian Prince Vladimir was created under the influence of two relatives: grandmother Olga and father Svyatoslav. They were very different. The grandmother was baptized even before the birth of her grandson. For this purpose, she specially visited Constantinople, the main city of eastern Byzantium. And the emperor himself became her successor, that is, her godfather. The grandmother took her grandson to her homeland, to the Pskova River. There she had a vision - three bright rays descending from heaven. And my grandmother predicted that there would be a Church of the Holy Trinity on this site. And so it happened. And always, when someone in Russia said: “I will go (go) to the Holy Trinity,” then everyone understood that the person was going to Pskov. They visited Novgorod together, and Belgorod. And in the Chernigov land, in the homeland of the Monk Anthony, the leader (that is, who began, founded) Russian monasticism. Everywhere little Vladimir saw how loved his grandmother was, how friendly she was with everyone.

During his childhood there were few Christians in Kyiv, but there were some. And there was a church. The grandson saw how earnestly his grandmother prayed and listened to the prayers.

But the father was different. Vladimir admired him. Dashing rider, warrior, hunter. Seasoned in campaigns, able to sleep on damp ground, wielding a spear, a sword, and a bow, he tirelessly repelled enemy attacks on Rus'.

But Vladimir noticed and internalized the main difference in them: people loved his grandmother Olga, but they were afraid of his father, Prince Svyatoslav.

Stories about his battles and campaigns have survived to this day. And Svyatoslav began to fight at the age of five. Yes, I was just a baby when the people of Kiev came out to meet the Pechenegs. Svyatoslav was put on a horse and given a small bow in his hands. Svyatoslav pulled the bowstring and released an arrow towards the enemies. The arrow fell at the horse's feet. But the governors said: “The prince began the battle, we will begin too!”

Svyatoslav is the son of Prince Igor and Grand Duchess Olga. They are the collectors of Kievan Rus, which united the tribes of the Slavs (Drevlyans, Vyatichi, Radimichi...) from the Volga (Itil) to the Danube. Svyatoslav fought against the Volga Khazars, Polovtsians, fought with the Bulgarians, Pechenegs, defending and strengthening Rus'.

He also fought with the Greeks. Here their troops converged. The Greeks, wanting to cunningly find out the number of Russian soldiers, send a letter in which they say that they do not want to fight and are ready to pay tribute for each warrior and ask to name their number. And there are only ten thousand Russians. And there are a hundred Greeks. Svyatoslav replies: “We are twenty thousand.” The Greeks are rejoicing, which means there are five times more of them. And they attack. And then Svyatoslav calls on the soldiers to fight for Rus' to the last drop of blood. “I will be in the forefront and will not spare my head.” The soldiers answered him: “Where your head is, ours will be there.” It was then that Svyatoslav uttered the great phrase: “The dead have no shame.” That is, they will be covered in glory for their heroic death.

And one more expression of his remained in the people’s memory: “I’m coming to you,” it meant that Svyatoslav did not attack suddenly, was not treacherous, and warned the enemy of his approach.

WORK ALL YEAR ROUND

Vladimir grew up traveling around Rus' with his grandmother or father or uncle Dobrynya. In winter they rode sleighs on the ice of frozen rivers, and in summer these same rivers became roads. Everywhere they were greeted with bread and salt, because the princely government protected peasants, fishermen, carpenters, beekeepers (beekeepers) from attacks. Vladimir saw brave Russians in feats of arms, and he saw enough in ordinary life. But was she ordinary? No, and she was heroic, full of hard work. How much effort does it take to grow bread? Clear the fields, that is, cut down the trees, uproot the stumps, plow up the virgin soil, sow the grains, grow them, harvest the ears, and gather them into sheaves. Take them out, dry them, thresh them, then grind the grains into flour. Such work requires horses, plows, mills, and storage facilities. We also need to prepare food for the animals for the long winter, that is, mow the grass, dry the hay, and sweep it into stacks. And prepare firewood for heating houses and baths. Build stables for horses, barns for domestic animals: cows, pigs, sheep. Our winters are long, we don’t live in Greece. And how much work does all this require? Can't count.

From an early age, Russian children worked together with adults. It was even a punishment for them when they were not taken into the forest or field with them. Or go fishing. It’s hard to pull the net out, but picking fish out of the nets is just right. Even if in haymaking there are not big rakes, but small rakes, they still help. Let’s scoop up water from a spring or well, not a full bucket, but half a bucket, let’s weed not two beds, but one, for a bathhouse, bring not a large armful of logs, but two or three, let it be, after all, all this is help, all this is for the joy of the elders. And prepares the child for adult life.

Girls from the age of ten knew how to spin, weave, and sew. They embroidered patterns on towels and tablecloths. Babysat for the younger ones. They cleaned up the hut. Of course, Russian children also had games. They competed in strength and endurance, ran races, swam in rivers and lakes, made snowmen in the early spring, and made clay toys in the summer. We never sat idle. They didn’t even know the words: laziness, boredom, sadness. They went to work together singing. They were always cheerful and brave. But they grew up strong and smart.

FROM VARYAGS TO GREEKS

The state cannot live without communicating with its neighbors, near and far. It depends on them. He fights with enemies, makes friends with friends. And he trades. Trade in general greatly helps the development of any country. Merchants bring to other countries what their own country is rich in. And from there they bring what they don’t have at home. It's mutually beneficial. And educational. How would we learn about the faith and customs of other peoples of other countries if we had not been there?

There was the famous southern “Silk Road”, which ran from China through India, Pakistan, and the Middle East, but there was also a northern, so-called route “from the Varangians to the Greeks,” from Scandinavia through Ladoga, the Dnieper, the Black Sea to Byzantium. The main city on the way is Kyiv. The riches of the Russian land flowed into it. The Russian land was abundant in everything: furs, furs: sable, squirrels, beavers, foxes, honey, wax, flax, hemp. The strongest, most beautiful fabrics were made from flax, and ship ropes were made from hemp so strong that a team of oxen could not break them.

Once, while still a boy, Prince Vladimir traveled the “Greek” path. The father did not take care of himself and tempered his son.

In the spring, a caravan of ships was formed in Kyiv. The main vessel of antiquity was the boat. She lifted forty to fifty people and several hundred pounds of cargo (A pood is sixteen kilograms). The caravan was guarded by the prince's guards and warriors. How not to protect - the Dnieper steppes were full of “dashing” people.

A flotilla, a caravan of ships, gathered below Kyiv, when the spring flood, the flood, raised the water. We set off on the “Greek way”. And along the way there are very disturbing places - the Dnieper rapids. Coastal rocks squeeze the river current, it becomes swift and stormy, the water boils, overflows the deck, and it is dangerous to swim. Especially with a load. A heavy boat has a deep draft and can run into a rock with its bottom or “belly” and sink. They made it easier by dragging loads on themselves. There is a record that sometimes the walking distance was six thousand steps. The young prince had seen enough of this grueling multi-day labor. Almost without sleep, with all the effort. But they didn’t lose heart, they joked and encouraged each other.

The rapids had their own names. The Neyasytetsky threshold, that is, the insatiable one, destroyed a lot of ships and goods, then the dangerous Free Prague, and then Vilny and others. There are also constant raids by robbers - raw food eaters. The Pechenegs were called this because they ate raw horse meat and wild animal meat. They fought off them only near the island of Khortitsa, the future center of the Zaporozhye army.

But here, the mouth of the Dnieper, the sea. Now it is Black, it was previously called Pontus Euxine and Russian. There are big storms and steep waves. We walked along the banks. Let's try to imagine rowers sitting on oars around the clock, when there was no tailwind for the sails, or even a headwind.

They came to Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium, Tsar-grad. We marveled at the Church of St. Sophia. It was there that Princess Olga received Holy Baptism. We visited, of course, the Constantinople gates, onto which, as a sign of victory, Oleg of Kiev nailed his shield. Remember Pushkin’s “Song of the Prophetic Oleg”? “Your shield is on the gates of Constantinople.”

Of course, the young prince’s heart was full of pride for his ancestors. He did not think then that in the twenty-sixth year of his life he himself would accept the Byzantine faith, and the entire Russian land subject to him...

BEFORE DAWN

More than others, outstanding figures of Russia Alexander Nevsky, Ivan Kalita, Dimitri Donskoy, Ivan the Third, Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Alexander Suvorov are sung in folk art. But only one of them, the Great Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir of Kyiv, the people called and continue to call the RED SUN.

What is the explanation for the fact that only Vladimir was named that way? And the fact is that he brought the Orthodox Faith to Russia. It was she who united Rus' and created Russia, the country in which we live. And without this faith there would be neither Russia nor you and me.

Tenth century. Young Rus'. Mighty forests, deep clear rivers, spacious arable lands and pastures. Arable lands are fields on which bread, rye and wheat, oats and barley grow, and pastures are meadows on which herds of horses, cows and sheep graze. Rich fishing, that is, fishing on rivers and the sea. Large families. It would seem that not to live? But there are constantly quarrels, fights, even wars. Why? After all, they are Russian, everyone speaks the same language. But the language is the same, but the faith is different. And without faith there is no life, no understanding of its meaning. Some people believe in water spirits, some in mermen, some in mermaids, some in forest goblins, some in something else. There were idols in cities and villages: stone, wooden, copper, in Kyiv even a silver idol of Perun with a golden mustache. Sacrifices were made to idols. The victims are bloody. They slaughtered animals and sprinkled blood on idols. They thought that the stinking, black smoke from the burning of corpses was pleasing to the pagan deities. Sometimes their victims, it’s scary to say, were human.

Slowly, little by little, but unstoppably, an understanding of the need for monotheism emerged, for pagan polytheism did not unite people. “Our God is better than yours!” And what did this lead to? Only to new quarrels. Moreover, Princess Olga, Vladimir’s grandmother, lived in people’s memories. She really hoped that her son, Prince Svyatoslav, would also become Orthodox. But the conqueror of the pagans: the Khazars, the Pechenegs, the Polovtsians, he himself remained a pagan, although he did not forbid anyone to believe in Christ.

Princess Olga taught her grandson Vladimir the Christian faith. He listened to his grandmother, but his authority, of course, was first and foremost his father. He went with him on campaigns and at princely feasts. While tempering his body and defending Rus', Vladimir cared little about his soul. The concept of sin did not seem to concern him. And that is to say, there was a custom in Rus' at that time - when a son was born, the father laid a sword at his cradle and said: I will not leave you any inheritance, you will only have what you get with this sword. After the death of his father, fighting for the throne, Vladimir did not even stop at fratricide. He insidiously killed his brother Svyatopolk and took his wife Rogneda as his wife. Alas, such were the morals in pre-Christian Rus'.

But, as the Scripture says: the Lord does not want the sinner to die, but wants his salvation.

SECOND PAUL

Why does Kiev Metropolitan Hilarion call Vladimir the Second Paul in his “Sermon on Law and Grace”? Paul is an apostle of Jesus Christ. He was a zealous Jew, an enemy of Christ. When the Jews stoned the deacon the first martyr Stephen, Paul (his name was still Saul) guarded the clothes of the murderers. Then he was sent to Damascus to persecute Christians there too. On the way, he became blind and heard the voice of God addressed specifically to him. He fell to his knees and repented. They brought him by the hand to Damascus. There he was baptized with the name Paul and received his sight, as they say in the “Acts of the Holy Apostles,” with both physical and mental eyes... And soon throughout Palestine, throughout the Mediterranean, they learned: an ardent persecutor of Christians had become an ardent fighter for the Christian faith.

Grand Duke Vladimir took exactly the same path. A persecutor of Christians, a pagan, a polygamist, an avenger, he turns into a warrior of Christ, into a humble servant of God.

Childhood memories of Grandma Olga also helped in this transformation. And what is sown in childhood will definitely sprout. In addition, he was already the ruler of a huge Slavic country, he loved it, he was looking for a single faith that would unite the Slavic tribes and help them survive in this hostile world. He always remembered his grandmother’s will to her son: stated later in the poet’s verses:

“Svyatoslav, take care of the Fatherland! I'm leaving mortal life.

In memory of the mother princess, do not feast at a noisy funeral feast;

Let my spirit not be darkened by the evil pagan ritual.

Let them say Christian prayers over me...”

FIRST VICTIMS

Gifts brought to the pagan gods were mainly animals, both wild and domestic. No one was surprised by the huge bonfires on which animal corpses were burned. They believed that the smell of burning meat, smoke and stench pleased the pagan gods, and for these sacrifices they would send their favors to earth. But there were even human casualties. The hill on which stood the idol, the “god” Perun with a silver head and a golden mustache, was soaked in blood.

One day, the people of Kiev returned from a successful campaign and decided to thank the “gods.” Slavs lived in Kyiv, father and son, John and Theodore, they were Christians. The pagans of Kyiv cast lots for who was to be sacrificed to Perun. It fell to the son of John. But Theodore stood in their way: “Your gods are not gods, but idols made of wood and stone. They are made by hand, what can they do? Nothing! I won’t give my son up to a senseless death!” The crowd attacked the Christians and tore them to pieces.

The news of the murder reached the prince. Everyone in Kyiv knew John and Theodore as good people who always came to the rescue and helped the poor. And, perhaps for the first time, the prince began to wonder whether such a sacrifice was necessary, who would like it? To the gods? But if the gods encourage the murder of people needed by Rus', do they want the good of Rus'?

CHOICE OF FAITH

The prince loved to go to the banks of the Dnieper, looked into the boundless distances, remembered how his grandmother told him about the Apostle Andrew, how he installed the Cross on the Dnieper steep here and predicted that there would be a great city here. Yes, there is a city. Where is the Cross?

Vladimir turned to the warriors who accompanied him, the boyars, and to his uncle, loyal to Dobrynya. With him he left the brothers' enmity to Novgorod and Sweden, and returned with him:

- What, Dobrynya, what, brothers, is it happening? Russians are shedding Russian blood, there is no peace even among themselves. Can we really continue to live according to the proverb: “We live in the forest, we pray to the stump”? We need to come to a common faith. Otherwise we'll quarrel. Necessary?

- Necessary! - His faithful servants approved of the prince. — A single faith is needed, uniting everyone.

- But which faith to choose? Both in Kyiv and in the outskirts there are many different things: Catholics, Muslims, Jews. And everyone puts their faith above others.

We deliberated for a long time and decided that faith should be chosen not from hearsay, but according to our own consideration and in those countries where this faith is the main one.

And wise, “deliberate” people were sent in different directions.

Catholics, Mohammedans, and Jews came to bow to the Russian prince. Everyone wanted to earn the attention of the powerful Russian prince. He listened to everyone and did not interrupt anyone. He spoke with the Greek philosopher for the longest time. About the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to earth, about His death on the cross, about the Resurrection, about eternal life, which must be earned in earthly life. About the fact that the greatest power on earth is not physical strength, and not the power of weapons, but love. And love. To God, to each other. And even to enemies.

- To enemies? - the prince was amazed.

- Yes, after all, they are people, and they are created in the image and likeness of God, and they can be saved through repentance, confession, and communion. And, most importantly, you don’t need to accumulate wealth for yourself on earth, you need to accumulate treasures in heaven. How? Good deeds, caring for the poor, forgiveness of offenses...

CONVERSATION WITH A GREEK

- But how to love God Whom you cannot see? - Vladimir asked the Greek philosopher.

- Yes, you don’t see. But it is possible to feel Him. He is next to every person. You have never seen your conscience, but everyone has one. And conscience is the voice of God in the soul. Haven't you ever been ashamed of something bad you've done to other people, and haven't you always been right?

“Not always,” agreed Vladimir, “but I’m a prince, and everything is allowed to a prince.”

- For God there is no prince, no slave, no warrior, no plowman, we are all God’s creation. We are different in life, but in one thing, in the main thing, we are all equal, we are all mortal. Once a person is born, it means he will die. And there is nowhere to hide from this. God is like the sun. No matter how you close yourself from it, it is there. God is like air, he is everywhere, we breathe it, without him we will suffocate, but we do not see him.

“But people live without your God.”

- Are they alive? How? Is this life? There is greed, envy, and vindictiveness all around. But still God loves even such sinners. He created man, He wants to save him. But a person must want this, and he must hurry. After all, our earthly life is a sparkle in the night, and eternal life is the radiance of the sun.

“Yes,” answered the prince, “we believe in an afterlife.” We see off our dead and killed with honor, we put everything that is needed in their graves, mounds: weapons, gold, clothes...

- This is just not necessary at all. All this will rot, rust, turn to dust. One thing is needed - to save the immortal soul.

All the gold in the world is not worth one soul. Think, prince, what great states there were in the old days, what palaces, Olympics, where was it all?

The prince listened, listened to the words of the Greek philosopher, thanked him, but still did not yet choose any faith. I decided to wait for the ambassadors to return.

The ambassadors returned. No, they didn’t like any faith other than the Greek Orthodox. “Where we were during the service,” the ambassadors said, “we don’t know, on earth or in heaven... Great is the Christian God!”

And the clock of Russian history began to count down a new time.

PRINCE'S BAPTISM AND WEDDING

It would seem that nothing could be simpler: choose a faith, call the priests, announce the prince’s command to the people. Moreover, his power was unquestionable. But Vladimir did not want to accept a faith that, as he thought, would place him lower than the Byzantine emperors. He wanted the Kiev throne to be equal to that of Constantinople. I sent a demand to the emperors in Constantinople: give me your sister Anna as my wife. They opposed - like this: a Christian woman will marry a polygamist and a pagan.

There is a legend that the Greeks first used a trick - they brought a beautiful Greek girl instead of Anna. But the deception was revealed. Chronicles say that Vladimir besieged the main Greek city in Crimea - Chersonesos. The Greeks resisted, but Vladimir dug up the pipes through which water flowed into the city and the Greeks surrendered. He repeated his conditions again. Here, the chronicle says, the Lord struck Vladimir with blindness. When the crying and suffering Princess Anna arrived with the priests in Chersonesos, Vladimir could not even see her. Anna asked him to be baptized immediately. The rite of Baptism was completed. “Be baptized into Christ,” the priests sang, “put on Christ.” This ritual has been preserved to this day. That is, we not only immerse ourselves in the font, not only put on a cross on our body, but we are also freed from original sin and devote our entire lives to serving Christ.

Vladimir received his sight both with his physical eyes, he began to see, and with his spiritual eyes, that is, he saw the light of Christ. He immediately returned captured Chersonesos to the Greeks and freed them from paying tribute. The wedding ceremony of the servants of God Vladimir and Anna was performed. And Anna became the first and only legal wife of Prince Vladimir. It was she who gave birth to the future passion-bearers, the first Russian saints Boris and Gleb, Vladimir’s beloved children.

ON THE RUSSIAN JORDAN

The first metropolitan, the Greek Michael, appeared in Kyiv. Greek priests also arrived with him. But Russian priests have already begun to appear. They went from house to house, talking about the Orthodox faith. Of course, it was very difficult for people to abandon the usual veneration of stone and wooden idols. But what about these “deities”, seemingly so omnipotent, saturated with meat and blood, that they could not even protect themselves?

Vladimir decisively ordered the destruction of the places of sacrifice, the removal of idols from their pedestals and throwing them into the Dnieper. The main idol of Perun was dragged to the shore and beaten with sticks. Someone felt sorry for him. When he floated down the stream, some ran after him and shouted: “Get out (that is, swim out), God!” They believed that Perun would return, no, he swam and swam like an ordinary log.

And here it is - a sunny morning, the beginning of August. The First Savior, as he is called. The day before it was announced to everyone: this is the will of the prince and his squad: to be all in white robes on the banks of the Dnieper and its tributary Pochayna. The priests served the main service of the Orthodox faith - the Liturgy and began Baptism. Men and women with children in their arms entered the waters of the Russian Dnieper, like the first Christians into the waters of the Gospel Jordan, in which Jesus Christ received Holy Baptism.

Vladimir looked with great tenderness at the people of Kiev converting to Christianity. He raised his hands to heaven and exclaimed:

“Lord God! Look down from heaven and see and visit these grapes, which Thy right hand (hand) planted!”

TITHE

Skilled stone craftsmen arrived from Byzantium. Helpers from the Russian people learned from them and turned out to be so capable and receptive that soon stone churches began to be built throughout Rus'. The Temple of the Tithes was one of the first to rise to heaven. Just at the place where Baptism took place. And the street began to be called Khreshchatyk. And the prince himself allocated money for construction from the princely treasury. Tenth part. He wanted to invest more money, but Metropolitan Michael said that this tenth part of the income had been established since ancient times. Donating more is wasteful, giving less is greed. A tenth of their income was contributed to churches by warriors, boyars, merchants, and service people. And poor people brought their pennies. And church buildings were built at such a speed that already at the beginning of the next, eleventh century, contemporaries said that there were over three hundred churches in Kyiv alone. And in terms of beauty, Kyiv was compared with Constantinople and Rome.

Pilgrimages to Jerusalem, the Holy Land, began. Russian lamps lit up at the Holy Sepulcher.

Vladimir ordered that children be sent “to book learning.” There is great benefit in reading books and writing. At first there were schools only at monasteries. Parents cried when they gave up their children, but soon they saw that their children were becoming smarter and better. After all, according to the belief of that time, books are rivers that water (feed) the Universe with wisdom.

The Polovtsians, the Pechenegs, the Huns had no written language, and where is now the memory of them, where is their history? Everything is covered with the dust of centuries.

PRINCE'S Feasts

Our ancestors loved our holidays and communal feasts. And after Epiphany these feasts continued, but in a completely different way. There was no drunkenness or overeating on them. They came to them with their wives and children. Christianity stood up for the family and called it the home church. Polygamy was ended. Prayer before and after meals became mandatory. During the feasts, the Lives of the Saints, already translated from Greek into Slavic, were read aloud. After all, more than a hundred years have passed since the teachers of the Slavic saints Cyril and Methodius stayed in Russia, and literacy became universal. The written period of Russian literature had already begun.

But oral folk art was still revered. Songs were sung glorifying the exploits of our ancestors. Everyone knew ritual and majestic songs. The songs and stories of blind beggars and wanderers were touching. The songs “The Virgin Mary’s Walk through Torment,” “About the Brave Yegor,” and about Alexy, the man of God, were learned by heart. The presence of guslar players was always welcome at feasts. The strings of the harp, as they say in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” rumbled, giving praise to the heroes of past times. Experienced people talked “about habits and customs” in other countries.

The prince's love of poverty was so great that he not only invited everyone to the princely court: old and young, poor and rich, but also took care of those who, due to illness, could not attend the feast. For them, carts were loaded with all kinds of food (food) and food was delivered to their homes. And there was a sea of ​​all kinds of food: meat of domestic and wild animals, poultry, all kinds of fish, vegetables, mushrooms, berries, domestic and foreign drinks. But the Great Lent or Nativity, Assumption or Petrovsky Lent came and the rich food was exchanged for simple, lean food. But even here there was considerable consolation: all kinds of porridges, jelly, sour cabbage soup, mushrooms, honey kvass, loaves of wheat and rye bread, fish and cabbage pies. And for the children’s amusement, dried raisins, nuts, sweet strips of dried turnips and sugar beets, pickled apples...

TO THE LAST POINT

The Russians compared the life of every person to sailing on the sea, the sea of ​​life. They were even sometimes buried in coffins that looked like a boat. Yes, at sea, as in life, everything happens: calm, bad weather, sun, and clouds. But no matter how much you swim, you cannot avoid the last pier. And where she will be, we have no way of knowing.

The ship of Saint Prince Vladimir docked in his beloved town of Berestovo. It's not far from Kyiv. Before this, the prince had been ill for a long time. And he fell ill with grief after the death of his beloved wife Anna. It was as if she had called him to follow her. At this time, beloved sons Boris and Gleb were on campaigns. The boyars wanted to hide the sad news and the prince’s body, wrapped in a carpet, was brought secretly at night to Kyiv, to the Church of the Tithes. But how can you hide such a huge sad event? Crying and sobbing were heard throughout the Russian land.

Fifty-seven years old, he was only fifty-seven. And out of this period he was a pagan for twenty-six years, and a Christian for thirty.

He left behind a huge state. But the main thing was that the people of this state became Christians. That is, they were filled with love for each other. To family, to neighbors.

The name Vladimir has always been loved in Russia. Among the host (assembly) of the Russian new martyrs there are many who suffered for Christ named Vladimirov. During the years of persecution of the Orthodox Church, they died, preserving Jesus Christ for us. And they were glorified in our time, on the eve of the celebration of the Millennium of the Baptism of Rus' in 1988.

Let us pray to Saint Vladimir for the salvation of our beloved Russia. And we will always give thanks to the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vladimir. The history of Christianity in our beloved Russia began and continues with him.

In the illustration: “The Baptism of Rus'.” Mikhail Shankov. 2003. Oil on canvas

Mark on history

Prince Vladimir lived a very eventful life, and, of course, epics and legends could not ignore such a colorful figure. The Kiev ruler appears in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”; Feofan Prokopovich dedicated his works to him. It is no wonder that the image of Vladimir was also reflected in epics, for example, he appears as the main character of the tales of the three heroes. Even today, filmmakers make their films about the Baptist of Rus'. One of the latest was released in 2016 and is called “Viking”.

But, of course, every schoolchild knows Vladimir the Red Sun precisely because the prince baptized Rus'. Our state was very backward compared even to its neighbors, not to mention European countries. That is why Christianity not only helped the people become more united, but also became an impetus for the development of literacy.

Eastern Christianity for Russia—God's providence or calculation?

In the chronicles you can find an interesting story about how the Kiev prince sends ambassadors to different countries to choose a suitable religion for his state. Before this, both Jews and Muslims, envoys from the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople, came to him.

At this time, the Christian Church had not yet divided, so Orthodoxy and Catholicism were not yet officially discussed. But nevertheless, East and West were already different.

Christianity of the Eastern rite, as the chronicler says, is liked by Prince Vladimir both in liturgical and moral terms. When the ambassadors return from Sofia of Constantinople, the ruler is even more convinced of his sympathies, because the sent boyars admire the beauty of oriental singing, architecture, and service. After the words “We don’t know whether they were in heaven or earth,” the Grand Duke decides to baptize the entire people.

Historians say that the colorfulness of this story is the work of the chronicler, but in fact the ruler was familiar with the culture and religion of many prosperous countries of that time.

Even without being a convinced Christian, the prince realized that paganism was a step backwards. People of the advanced states of that time believed in one God, developed culturally, had a written language and established diplomatic relations. Such a prospect was closed to pagan Rus'.

Therefore, following the example of Byzantium, Vladimir chose Christianity of the Eastern rite for Rus'. The same religion that Askold and Dir and his grandmother Olga had already chosen before him.

Interesting Facts

Vladimir the Red Sun, whose reign was 969-1015, was able to significantly influence the course of history. Here are the most interesting facts about the prince:

• Vladimir was canonized as a saint only in 1888. This event was timed to coincide with the 900th anniversary of Christianity in Russia.
• In 978, Vladimir killed his brother Yaropolk and thus seized the Kiev throne.
• The prince introduced the first coins in Rus'. They were called gold coins and silver coins. Despite the fact that Byzantine gold was in use, minting their own money made it possible to boost the state economy.
• Thanks to the adoption of Christianity, literacy began to spread in Rus'. It was precisely because it was necessary to read at least the Bible that enlightenment primarily affected the church and monks.
• Vladimir had 11 officially recognized sons.

The path of change: from the pagan prince to Saint Vladimir

Usually historians point to political motives for baptism. What’s surprising is that after accepting Christianity, changes actually happen to the ambitious prince.

Firstly , he released his concubines and lived with only one wife, Anna.

Secondly , he abolished the death penalty for some time. Yes, the same Vladimir who, before baptism, killed Rogneda’s relatives and “removed” Yaropolk.

Thirdly , he helped the needy, cared for the poor, and often organized charity dinners.

Fourthly , the prince decides to baptize the entire people. It is to Saint Vladimir that we owe the fact that we belong to the Orthodox Church.

And it is no coincidence that on the day of memory of the holy prince, July 28, in our time another holiday was established - the baptism of Russia .

The mystery, character and fate of the owners named Volodya

Let's reveal the secret of the name Volodya. It has a very strong sound. If you look at the characteristics of the name letter by letter, you can see that the character traits of people with the name Vladimir will be such qualities as:

• Creative skills
• ability to find common language with people
• aesthetic view of things
• desire to achieve success in life
• strong and persistent spirit
• responsibility
• self-sufficiency
• responsiveness
• attention to detail
• inner strength and ability to solve complex problems
• courage, confidence in one's rightness.